There has been a big rise in company landlord numbers which have reached their highest level since 2011, according to research.
Real estate firm Hamptons International says that 12% of rental homes in the first half of this year were let by a company landlord.
That's up from 2015's figure of 9% and before tax changes for sole trading landlords were unveiled.
The data also reveals that company landlord's own 641,480 homes, which is 42% more than they did in 2015.
Also, landlords in London are most likely to use a company structure for owning a buy to let property with 13% of the sector.
Hamptons' latest index reveals that the cost of a new let has risen in June to £986, which is a year-on-year rise of 3.1%, fuelled by growing rents in the south.
‘BTL sector is continuing to professionalise’
The firm's head of research, Aneisha Beveridge, said: "With more than one in 10 properties now let by private companies, it's an indication that the BTL sector is continuing to professionalise.
"Increasing taxation for landlords combined with the build to rent sector growth means more companies are letting homes since our records began."
She added that in London, where landlords tend to have high levels of debt, are the ones that gain most from corporate ownership.
However, the number of sole trader landlords still dominate the private rental sector and their figures reveal that Scotland has 12% of its rental sector being run by company landlords.
In the south, excluding London, the figure is 12%, as it is for the Midlands while in the North, 11% of rental properties are with company landlords and in Wales, it is 8%.
Landlords opt for two-year BTL deals
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that growing numbers of landlords are opting to choose a two-year buy to let deal.
Applications for these financial products have risen to 39% at the end of June, from 2018's figure of 26%.
The figures come from Commercial Trust who say that the number of applications has risen because landlords are looking for a 'short-term solution in a bid to ride out political and economic chaos'.
The firm's chief executive, Andrew Turner, said: "Five-year fixed rate BTL deals have dominated over several quarters and many landlords could now be hedging their bets for the short-term with low rate competitive buy to let mortgages."
